Rail clamp



Aug. 12, 1930. I w, THQMPSQN 1,772,527

RA IL CLAMP Filed April 14. 1928 ,4. fig 5 ea Z0 w" 78 /9 /7 Wham 2. mamom,

- INVENTOR.

, 5 BY AQ XWM A T TORNEYS.

Patented Aug,- 1 V i I i WILLr M 13.; THOMPSON, on sownmnwiwxm;wit-comm,ASSIGNOR" 'i o in'iGYfiUs-Q r E E cQ PANY, onSOUTH"MILWAUKEEQKQWISGQKSINQ A -CORPORATION 01s DELL- o ,1 I, -"Appiicatiozi fii qu rn 14, 19 28."Serial Nbig270b22lff fwThisinvention-relates to 'improveinents. in

rail clamps usediin connection withf ihad cars, excavating machines andthe like, which, rest upon" and travel along railroad rails, and 5 inparticulartis an improvement-upon U. 3.

Patent No. 1,222,193, to 'Pi erpontE. Butcher,

granted'April'10,*1917.- g

Ieretoforejnlany d'flerent kinds of clamps have been used to -preventthe movementfof the excavating orothermachineryalong the rails at timeswhen stichinovelnent is L1I1d8Si1 able, asgfor instance when} theexcavator is digging." As. such machinery isgenerally into action, itisnecessary that such a clamp shal-Lbe Yery. strong, :and fthatjitshall; inaintainia positive grip *uponzthe. rail ,under'ztheheavieststressthatis rat z alllikelyftoplit JMy invention to"; nrov ide"a; V clamp which wiiL be Irigidly and ,firmlyhel'd in" positiongon therail, 'Wherein thef clamping; partjvill operate totighten the clamps-inposition, and wherein that portion I of the t clamp which takes thehammer blow or en"- gages the wheelxofthe truck will rest at all timesfir'rniy and solidly. onithe rai1,iso'thatwa.

' series of separate impactsiwil l exert no ten:

: 9 dency toward releasing the clamp" or. the

clamp locking mechanism; 3 K

h .The objects of mylnventiondreto proi ide a clamp-Which Wilhrigidljand securelyjate tech ahd hold itselfuponithe rail, which will take.thefirnpztctQof the 1 leaf Wheel without I damage or dangerofclooseningiand jvhioh Will not gradually ork loose undertheiefi'ectofaf' senies ofiseparate impacts or blows.

It is further; object of my invention to I :49 providea olarnpffthet,ihsteadpi Working loose under successive impacts; is i so: convstructe'd that :any increase :of 1 pressure" :Oi l the ""excavator or}:other machinery: against "the c1an1pWi11 ratherfoausetheciarnptogrip 1the-rail n ore stronglyfzind rigidlyftheflbe forei; V

' Other objectsiof my inventioni will appear 'fron titne' to timeint11e" specifice;tifon'.-'=The invention is illustrated in theaccompanying :in? operative position on t11e ;rai1.;;

very/heavy and. greati ,forcestending to 15 niove' theniachinery alongthe rai'is are put QA: short, lug 21kpro F zts idejelevationgof myreifciarnp ;Fig1 1re 2 "sfa plan eview of the clamp operat ve position,endj also ,shoyvingwin dottedellnes; the position when it is about to 5be disengaged. 77

Figklre 3Sh0WS eavertical sectioh i th'e lL t thQ i'ztmpin end view,=tak n "along the -73 of Figure 1. a

Figure 4: is ewvertical section, taken, the lined-f Fignre'l. e

",Figure, 5 is a side elevatlon showingethe track, to portionof the earWheel, and'fthe clamp initsoperatiVe-positiomiin engage ment withthesti'ackand Wheel." 1 wihroughout the drawings the San-1611111111bersindicate the same or s'ilnilar partsJ l xll is wrailroad;rail,havingthensual type of head 12, with the usual SlOPQCiTiHdGFSUD?face. 13, on either side. AWheel, adaptedto 3rlin'npoiithe-rail"and,lto'snp,port theshoilel, car, 1o1 ra11r0ad trucki'sishownujat 14, Fig:

ure 5, engagingtheiolaimp 15 and thereby 1 prevented from rollingfurther to. r the right; 5

@Thef'bodyofthet'oiampl5ai sziaditptfidijide I overlie and besubstantiallyparallelwith the r headQ12-ofthe rail.Thegfoifimrd'portionglti is adapted v to rest smoothly, isquarelyf andfirmly upon the rail. fArib orweb '17 'proj ects upward frond the body:ofi'the' chmp, and is of thecar Wheel,whichistottloiitit.e A i I'ects'to oneside of the" body of-the clamp at'the end-edjacentthe carWheeL; Thist1ug extends downward. on; one

- side o fthe distance, :szi'id distarice being. enough to vprovidee'goodj grip 'on the S e of th i 1} Wh l stil l llt i nglth tfilfii fp lyi whiif fb fippfi n eng thishigont'ofengagement with th e fsidefoi vthemih'thereby'perniittingthe clamp to be 1 rotated intjdthepositionshowninFi1ire2 ,i'p'osition' it-his" 111g i "Adjacent theh-oiitend the clamp 9 apertured as at 18, to allow of the insertion ofthe hand to nianipulate the clampt-{nrThe-npe V per and'outer portionsof theri-b end ina 'reinforcement,asFshoWn aft-l9, the forward suit faceof which, at -20, isf shapedso .as'fto be substantially concentrionviththe periphery heavy hok,22, which extends downward and around the headof the rail, and is provided with an inclined rail head engaging surfaceThe inclination of this surface on the upper side ofthe hook issubstantially equal to the inclination ofthe lower side of the railhead, so that normally this surface rests i v i i e t i,

"je c ts from the same'side of'the clamp body 7 as the short lug 21.This hook 24 is nearer' position-shown in Figure 3, thelupper insmoothlyand firmly against the lower side ofrail head when the parts are in theclamping positi'on. Anothe'rheavy hook 2st pro-v,

to" the rear end of the ,cla-mpthan theclug 22'.

" Its upper surface, which is ad apted to C0111 tact with the lower sideof the rail head, is

more i'nclined'than the under 'side'of the rail head, so that when theparts are in'the clined'jsurface of this-hook willengage the lowersideofthe rail head only at the point I indicated as 25. I I

The hooks 22, 24 extend inwardly toward tlie webof the rail, so thatthey are both of them in a normal position beneath the head of the rail;the-relative size of the parts, however, being such that, when the clampis. rotated into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, thereis sufiicient gap between the hooks that the clamp may be disengagedfrom the rail-withoutthe hooks engaging the headthereofv To facilitatethis, a portion of each ofithe hooks 22 and 24 adjacent theother vofsaid hooks is cut away, as shownat 26 an 2'7onsaidlugsrespectively.

At the rear end, the 'clamp terminates a downwardly depending lug 28.:Forward of this -lug 28, the under. surface ofthe body 'will teiid t oraise the rearend "of arsena of the clamp is inclinedforwardly and downif wartlly, as shown at 29. The space thusleft between'the inclinedsurface 29 and the rail head'12 is adapted :toengage and guide .a roundtapered 'pin 30. 'Normally this pinis confinedi'between the rail head12, the inclined surface 29,'andflthe lug 28. When the small" end ofthep'inis inserted inthis space,

and-the" pin is fdriven,thefdriving tends to rotate the clamp upwardlyabout theforward end thereof, where it engages the rail, and also tendsto draw the clamping lugs 22 and 24 tightly against the under surfacesvof the rail head l2, thereby strongly binding the clamp againstthe'head-of the rail,

'Itis' obvious that if, under pressure of Wa d-end, of thel lamm whet erthatbecomes;

creasedthrust is administered as a steady thrust or asa succession ofshocks.

The conical shape of the pin 30 not only facilitates, its insertion, butalso insures a binding action as the pin rolls, entirely apart from thefact of the inclination of the under shoiild increase the bindingelfect. v "T If, fontheqspecitie purpose for which m clamp is to beused, it is desirable that it shall be' 'possible to drag the clampforward along 'the rail to'a-new station of the ex-: cavat'or orother'::device,' and to haverthe clamp set itself when the'wheel nextbacks against it, this may be accomplished in any practicable 1nanner;:as for instance, by having at each side of theclamp, a flexible mem;.her (not shown), of each of which members one end is attached to theclamp and the other can be put into temporary connection with one of theprojecting ends of the taper pin. When the clamp is 'drawnforward,'thisflexible member will 'draw thetaper pin along with the clamp,'andwillleave it in such a position that the next backward movement of the wheelwill reset the'clamp". a ,It is therefore clear that I have provided arail clamp that isvery strong and, durable, and is positive in its gripupon the rail under any stress that can be put upon it, remaining at alltimes-securelyalocked to the. rail, with the end that takes the'hammerblow or. engages-the wheel of the truck resting very sc curelyupon the head of therai l; and further more,l that I have zprovided aclamp which, though easily removable, cannot become disengaged ."un'derimpact or other stress, but rather becomesimore tightly locked to. therail the greater the stress imposed upon, it

While-I have herein described and illus trated one form of my clamp, Ipurpose not to belimited. to the specific embodiment of my invention.herein shown, except to the extentthat such limitations may be embodiedin the appended; claims. a Iclaimz t 1 1 j 1; A railclamp,comprisingI:"abody portion having its underf surf-ace at one end adapted; normallytooverlieand be parallel touthe head of the rail-to which it is'to beapplied said? body a portion. having, adjacent its, other I end, anunder surface forwardly and downwardly inclined; and means forholding'the clamp in place and for'forcing the'first mentioned endthereof into thorioughly continuous contact with the top of the; rail;said meansv comprising clamping hooksadaptedato, engage the under sideof the rail head; said means alsocomprisin'g-a that end-of the clampwhich is remote from the rail contacting endof thebody portion. 2. Arail clamp, comprising"; a body cpor-i tion haying its under surfaceatone end;

adapted normally to overlie and be parallel to the head of therail towhich it is tube applied; said body portion having,-adjacent thedirection of taper are curve'dfsaidfwedge c 6 being adapted to beinserted betweenthe its other end, an under surface forwardly and:downwardly 'inclined; and meansffor holdling the clamp in' place and forforcingthe ,first mentioned end'thereof into "thoroughly continuouscontact with the top of theflrailgf. said means comprising a clamping.hooks" adapted to engage the under, side ofthe rail head; said meansalso comprisings a tapered wedge, whose cro'ss sections.perpendiculartobody portion andthe rail adjacent that end of the clamp which is remotefrom the rail contacting end of the body, p ortion..

a 3. A rail clamp, comprising} a body portion having its under: surfaceat one end adapted normally to overlie and be parallel adjacent to saidlug, an under surface forwardly and downwardly inclinedyand means,

for holding the clamp-in place and for forcoughly continuous contactwiththe top of the rail; said means comprisingjclamping hooks adaptedto-engage the under side of the rail. head; said'means also comprisingaconical wedge, adapted-to. beinserted between the body portion andtherail adjacent that end of the clamp which is remote from the rail Icontactingend of the body portion;

- 4. As a new article of manufacture, a rail 7 clamp with a portion ofits unders'urface j forwardly and downwardly inclined, and a conicalWedge for insertion clined surface and'the rail. a

5. As a new articl'eofmanufacture, a rail clamp with a portion of itsundensurface between" said in f forwardly and downwardly inclined, a

downwardly depending lug rearward of said inclinedjsurface, and aconical wedge for insertionbetween said inclinedsurface' and the @ra il.

I said wed 6. As anew articlefof manufacture, a rail clamp with aportion of its under surface cross sections perpendicular to thedirectionof taper are curved, said wedge being for insertion betweensaid inclined surface and the 'rail. y j r 8. A rail clamp, comprising:a'body POI? tion having its under surface at one end adapted normally tooverlie and be parallel to the head ofthe rail to which it is tov be iapplied {said body portion having, adjacent its other end, an undersurface forwardly and-downwardly inclined; and means for" ,"holding theclamp in place and for forcing one end thereof, intothoroughlycontinuous contactwith the top of the rail said mean'sf 1 comprisingclamping hooks adapted toe n gageftheunder side or therail head; said ofthe clamp which is remote from the, rail contacting end of thebodyportion.

9. A rail clamp, comprising: abody portion having its under surface atone end adapted normally to overlie and beparallel to the head of therail to which it isto be j ,applied; said bodyhaving at its other end ato the headof'the rail to WlfllCll it is to be applied; said bo'dyhairing at its other. end: a downwardly depending lug, and having.

downwardly depending lug, and having adto engage the under side of therail head; said means also oomprlslnga pin of curvedjacent to'saidlug,anunder surface for and tinuous contact withithe top of the rail; saiding the mentioned end thereof int0thOr- :mea n comprisjng-clamping hooks7, adapted j cross sectiomadapted to be inserted between: 1

rail contacting end of the body portion.

, 10. As a new" article of manufacture, a rail "the body portionandtherail adjacent that end of the clamp which is'remote fromjthe clampwith a; portion ofits under surface forwardly and downwardly'inclined,and a tween saidinclined surface and the rail.

11. As a new article of'manufacture, a rail clamp with a portion ofitsunder surface pin ofocurvedcross section for insertionbe forwardlyand downwardly inclined," a 1 downwardly depending; lug rearward of saidinclined surface,and a pin f curved i cross section for insertionbetween said in clmedsur-face and the rail;

'n 'In testimony whereof I afl'ix my signature,

dicular to the direction-of taper are curved, o

clamp with a portion'of its. unde'rsurface inclined-surface, and atapered wedge, whose forwardly and 7 downwardly inclined, ,aQ downwardlydepending lug rearward of "said- WILLIAM fBQTHOMPSO'Na 1

